FG's Revenue Generating Agencies Squanders Over N1 trillion

The Federal Government has indicted some revenue-generating agencies, often regarded as ‘juicy’ parastatals, for squandering over N1 trillion on bogus salaries and allowances for their workers.

The government, which declared the situation as no longer acceptable, has resolved to bring the affected agencies to book and stop further wastage of public funds on unauthorised personnel emoluments.

The lid on the illegal activities of the agencies was blown open by the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun.

She accused the agencies of generating about N1.5 trillion yearly but spending 90 percent of it on recurrent expenditure of their workers.

Adeosun made the disclosure at the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the State House, Abuja.

The NEC meeting was attended by state governors, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, and the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu.

Briefing newsmen after the meeting, Anambra State Governor, Willie Obiano, explained that Adeosun briefed the NEC on the financial abuses being committed by the agencies.

The companies, he said, have been involved in the illegal acts in the last 10 years.

He said that “the Finance Ministry reported to the Council certain activities of some revenue-generating agencies that amounted to financial abuse of the revenues they generate.

The profligate spending of the agencies include paying salaries above Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Allocation Committee (RMFAC) specifications; converting official cars to personal ownership; monetising medical allowances arbitrarily; unapproved overseas’ trips; lavish training allowances, and excessive personal loan approval, including unapproved mortgages.

“The Ministry of Finance and RMFAC are working together to rein in these abuses as these revenue agencies raise as much as N1.5 trillion and spend almost 90 percent on their recurrent expenditure.

“The minister added that this has been going on for a decade, but such financial abuses whereby the agencies hide the revenues that ought to go to the Federation Account will now be exposed and terminated,” the governor said.

Adeosun also disclosed that the excess crude oil proceeds as at November 2016 stood at $2.4 billion, while budget support loan facility of $1.1 billion was disbursed in October to 35 states, making a total of $6.3 billion now released to the states.

On the N2 billion Ecological Fund said to be paid to states by the last administration, which some states complained they did not benefit from, the NEC resolved to investigate it and report its findings to the President.

Meanwhile, with the government’s decision to end its Joint Venture Cash (JVC) calls with oil companies next year, Kachikwu said that the country will attract investments in excess of $15 billion from the affected firms.

Kachikwu brought the proposal to change the funding configuration of JVC for upstream companies for endorsement by the NEC at its meeting on Thursday.

The minister told State House Correspondents after the NEC meeting that the current cash call arrears in the oil sector over the last five years up to December 2015 was about $6.8 billion, whereas as at 2016, the government had accumulated unpaid cash call arrears of over $2.5 billion.

The debts accumulated due to the failure to pay the joint cash calls when global crude oil price was selling for between $110 and $120 per barrel, he said, noting that it had now become difficult to pay them off as a result of the Niger Delta militancy and the drop in oil prices to $40 per barrel.

“When that happens, you find that your reserve begins to deplete, your ability to maintain production at current level will begin to dissipate and the cost of oil per barrel of production at joint ventures continues to rise because of the very little volumes chasing the cost and at the end of the day, the investors’ confidence begins to wane.“So, a lot of the projects that ought to have happened in this country were basically abandoned,” the minister said.

He said a sustainable solution to this has however been found by the Nigerian Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Ministry of Petroleum.

According to him; “what we have been able to put together has enabled us to save over $1.7 billion for the government on the $6.8 billion that was previously owed. So, we are going to be owing only $5.1 billion as opposed to $6.8 billion.”

“The $5.1 billion will be paid within five years interest-free and the more funds will come from incremental barrels of oil generated by the oil companies apart from the current 2.2 million barrels”, Kachikwu explained.

He explained further that if for any reason the government did not meet the thresholds, it would not be able to pay the $5.1 and the $2.6 billion outstanding for this year.

Kachikwu added that he expected the barrel reserve production to increase to about 2.5 million by 2019 and potentially to about 3 million barrels by 2021.

@Authority

HOW WE LAUNDERED N1.2BILLION FOR FAYOSE, OBANIKORO

Alade Sunday, a compliance officer with Zenith Bank, Akure, Ondo State, on Monday narrated how his bank helped the duo of former Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro, and Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State move N1.2 billion.

Mr. Sunday, the prosecution’s principal witness, spoke during the trial of Abiodun Agbele, an aide to Mr. Fayose.

He told the court that as compliance officer, he was worried about the large sum of money being transported, but did not report it to any appropriate authority.

Mr. Agbele is facing trial for his role in the alleged diversion of N1.2 billion from the office of the former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki.

He was arraigned alongside Mr. Obanikoro, who was then outside the country, and two others, Tunde Oshinowo and Olalekan Ogunseye, both of whom are at large.

A company, Sylvan Mcnamara Limited, was also accused in the 11-count charge.

Mr. Obanikoro who submitted himself to the EFCC upon his return to Nigeria has agreed to return a bulk of the money he got from the deal, sources told PREMIUM.

Mr. Fayose is not being prosecuted because of the immunity he enjoys as governor by virtue of Section 308 of the Nigerian constitution. An account belonging to him, which reportedly had over N1 billion in it, was however frozen by the anti-graft agency, EFCC.

The N1.2 billion is believed to have been largely used to fund Mr. Fayose’s election as Ekiti governor. The controversial politician has since denied the charged and alleged persecution by Nigeria’s ruling All Progressives Congress.

The money is part of the N4.7 billion allegedly transferred from an account at the Central Bank belonging to the Office of the National Security Adviser. The then National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, is also being prosecuted separately on various charges of corruption and illegal possession of firearms.

While being cross examined by Mike Ozekhome, counsel to Mr. Agbele, Mr. Alade affirmed that when the aircraft carrying the cash alighted at the Akure airport, it was Mr. Agbele who took custody of the money and transferred it to the Zenith Bank officials, including instructions on how they were to be transported to the Akure branch of the bank.

The witness, who said he had not met Mr. Obanikoro before the airlift of the cash, said the former minister arrived Akure with Mr. Agbele on the plane that brought the money.

When asked on whose instruction the monies were transferred, he said “the instruction was given by Abiodun Agbele. The transaction was processed on behalf of Agbele, the cash was mostly in N1000 bills while the rest were in N500, and were deposited into the accounts of Spotless Investment, De Privateer limited and Ayodele Fayose’s account.”

Mr. Alade had earlier testified to the court that his zonal manager, Abiodun Oshodi, informed him that a customer would be bringing in some money. But when he was asked to read from his witness statement which stated that he was informed by one Lawrence Akande from the Ibadan branch of the bank, he got agitated and insisted on the fact that he was informed by his zonal manager.

Share this:

LagosVegFest offers health choices to everyone

For a third time, the festival on healthy lifestyle and plant based diet at a 3 day festival in Freedom Park, Lagos Island on November 18-20 with exhibitors, workshops and exercise sessions.

Health touches everybody's life in Nigeria. LagosVegFest holds the 3rd edition this November 18-20. In its third year running, the LagosVegFest (LVF) secured a partnership with Lagos @50,  the anniversary celebrations by Lagos State Government.

"We are delighted to see this festival of healthy lifestyle growing“, says Hakeem Jimo, co-organizer of LagosVegFest."

"More and more Nigerians are becoming aware of how to improve their health and we need to reach many more. There still way to many unhealthy habits that bring burden to our people. At LagosVegFest, people can experience the amazing benefits and great taste of a plant based diet as well as exercise and other healthy products“, adds Hakeem Jimo.

November 18-20, 2016 will again host some of Nigeria’s best businesses in the health and wellness industry, international guests, vegan lifestyle enthusiasts, and thought leaders in sustainable living at Freedom Park, Lagos Island.

This year, Dr. Aris Latham is expected all the way from Panama. Latham is the founder of 'Sunfired Foods' and is a famous raw food chef. He will give live cooking demonstrations during the 3 day festival. More than 25 exhibitors have confirmed their participation showcasing mostly Nigerian Made products and services – almost all of them beng small and medium enterprises.

This years's theme of the LagosVegFest is 'Green Living & Yoga'. Yoga has become a popular way to stay healthy and fit for Nigerians. At the International Yoga Day last year,  First Lady, Aisha Buhari, told Nigerians should embrace Yoga to impove their health.

Over a dozen Nigerian Yoga teachers will offer free classes over the 3 days showing the variety of this age old practice.

This year's LagosVegFest will mark the official launch of 'VegMeat  / Vegetarian Chunks' a retail product that makes healthy cooking available to all Nigerians.  VegMeat is tastes like beef but is 100% animal-free, easy to cook and to store and more affordable than meat.

Every visitor will receive a free pack. Gate fee to Freedom Park applies.

 

Dana Air Marks 8TH Anniversary, Assures Guests on Safety and Satisfaction …Flies over 4M passengers

L-R Mr. Anand Alargasamy, Vice President HR Dana Group, 

Captain Jari Williams, CEO MMA2 Airport, Mr Obi Mbanuzuo, 

Dana Air's Accountable Manager, Captain Segun Omole, 

Director of Flight Operations and Captain Victor Ola, during 

the Dana Air Anniversary Celebration recently in Lagos 

As Dana Air marks the 8th anniversary of its commercial flight operations, the airline has reaffirmed its commitment to providing safe, reliable and customer–centric air transport services to its teeming guests. The airline has also flown over 4 million passengers in the last 8 years of its operations. 

According to the Accountable Manager of the airline Mr. Obi Mbanuzuo, in spite of the visible operational challenges in the industry, the airline has remained strong. He attributed the airlines’ consistency to its shrewd managerial style, passion and commitment of its staff and the unending support of its amazing customers.’’ 

Commenting further, Obi said, ‘’ we are indeed proud to have flown over 4 million passengers in the last 8 years and we are very grateful for the support and patronage we have enjoyed since commencing operations. We would like to assure our loyal guests and the travelling public that we will not relent in our efforts to deliver world-class air transport services that all Nigerians can be proud of.” 

On safety and security, Obi assured that the airline would continue to adhere strictly to the maintenance schedule of its aircraft, as prescribed by the manufacturers and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority. He reiterated that for the airline to have successfully undergone an operational audit conducted by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, and its foreign partners, the Flight Safety Group; the airline is on a sound footing.

Dana Air commenced commercial flight operations on Monday, November 10, 2008 with its maiden flight from Lagos to Abuja. The airline currently operates twenty seven (27) daily flights from Lagos to Abuja, Port Harcourt , Uyo and Owerri. 

The airline has since commencing operations, been nominated for several awards in Nigeria and was named the Best Customer Friendly Airline for the 3rd consecutive time since 2014, by the Nigerian Customer Service Awards; for the airlines’ continuous improvement in the area of customer service, innovation, and hospitality.  

Dana Air’s vision is “To be recognized and respected as Nigeria’s most reliable and customer-friendly airline”, and her mission is “To earn the loyalty and respect of our customersby consistently demonstrating our commitment to service, and providing affordable regional air transport services that focus on innovation, quality and service excellence.”

PROTEST IN U.S AFTERMATH OF DONALD TRUMP VICTORY

They chanted anti-Donald Trump slogans. They flooded city streets. They gathered near the White House, disheartened and dismayed.

"Not my President, not today," many across the nation yelled.

In cities from Boston to Los Angeles, thousands of demonstrators gathered Wednesday night in protest of election results that mean the billionaire real estate developer will be the next president.

As many as 5,000 people were at a protest in New York, police estimated. Among the issues being yelled about outside Trump Tower were immigration and other controversial topics from the campaign.

"I came out here to let go of a lot of fear that was sparked as soon as I saw the results," protester Nick Powers said. He said he feared Trump will support stronger stop-and-frisk policies that would put many people in prison. He was worried that Trump's victory would embolden sexist views.

Protester: I wonder how much sexism was at play

Protester: I wonder how much sexism was at play 02:16

Many of the protests were in cities with large Democratic bases -- in Atlanta; Austin, Texas; Boston; Chicago; Denver; Philadelphia; Portland, Oregon; San Francisco, Seattle and Washington.

In Chicago, people walked down a normally busy Lake Shore Drive carrying signs. Many headed to Upper Wacker Drive, where a crowd was growing near the Trump Tower. CNN's Ryan Young estimated the throng at a few thousand people covering the street for half a mile. Many were using a vulgar chant aimed at the President-elect.

One college student showed CNN a sign that said, "I still can't believe I have to protest for civil rights."

"It's been really frustrating, because as a nation we thought we had come so far but it seems like we're taking many steps back," another woman said, "so we want to come together to change that and make sure we keep going forward."

In Portland, marchers chanted "No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA" as they trekked through downtown. Protesters in D.C., who headed to the Trump International Hotel, shouted the same slogan. After an earlier solemn gathering at the White House a few dozen young people remained, their cries profane.

Hundred of mostly young Latino protesters marched on Los Angeles City Hall Wednesday night. As the protest grew throughout the night, protesters set on fire a piñata depicting the head of President-elect.

They chanted "I will not live in fear," "Fight back, stand up" and "¡Si se puede!" (Spanish for "It can be done").

Several protesters said they feared that family or friends might be deported once Donald Trump is sworn into office.In Austin, protesters blocked a highway Wednesday afternoon. Students burned a flag on the campus of American University in Washington, and they walked out of class in high schools and colleges across the country the day after the Presidential election.

In downtown Los Angeles, high school students crowded the steps of City Hall on Wednesday afternoon. Protester Brooklyn White was holding a sign that said "Hate won't win." The 18-year-old voted for Hillary Clinton and was disappointed.

"We can't let it stop us. If he's the President then fine, but if Donald Trump is gonna be it then he has to listen," she said.

At Berkeley High School in California, about 1,500 students walked out of classes Wednesday morning. In Des Moines, Iowa it was hundred of high school students who left class to protest of election results. In Phoenix, about 200 students from Carl Hayden High School marched to the state Capitol in protest.

Earlier Wednesday, trash fires burned on an Oakland, California, highway as an illuminated sign in the nation's capital proclaimed that the United States was "better than bigotry." The Oakland Police Department said as many as 6,000 demonstrators had marched in the streets by Wednesday night.

"People are furious not just at the results of the election, but the rhetoric of Donald Trump," Ahmed Kanna, an organizer for Social Alternative Berkeley, told CNN's Don Lemon.

White House candlelight vigil

A candlelight vigil for Clinton supporters in front of the White House on Wednesday evening drew those who wanted to mourn their election loss.

The peaceful crowd called out "you are not alone" to over 2,600 people watching the gathering on Facebook, organizers said.

Maybelline McCoy, an immigrant from Panama, came to the vigil with her three children.

"My biggest fear is that they will be limited, that they will see people being silenced and invalidated and that I won't be able to shield them," she said.

FIRST FEMALE AVIATOR IN CANADA HONOURED

Rosella Bjornson, the pioneering young woman who became North America’s  first female airline pilot in 1973 was honoured at the Alberta Aviation Museum last weekend.

Bjornson took the right seat of a Transair Fokker F-28 on a flight from Thompson, Manitoba to Winnipeg in April of 1973.

She became a captain at Canadian Airlines and retired in 2004 after commanding aircraft for Air Canada and its short-lived budget spinoff Zip.

Bjornson has earned numerous honours from women’s groups for her pioneering career and while there were challenges and obstacles, Bjornson told the CBC she just rolled with them, like the time a Toronto ground controller didn’t think he’d heard her right.

“The ground controller had never heard a woman’s voice before on a big airplane and asked if I had my seat belt too tight,” Bjornson said.

Canada Aviator 

 print

U.S Airline Industry Is Already Pleading for Trump's Protectionism

The day after the election of Donald Trump to the White House, the aviation advocacy group Partnership for Open & Fair Skies released a pitch in the form of a statement. "We are optimistic that the Trump administration will stand up to the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, enforce our trade agreements and fight for American jobs,” said spokesperson Jill Zuckman.The Partnership for Fair & Open Skies is a coalition of the willing, an alliance of American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, and a slew of unions. These allies, who are usually at odds, formed the partnership to lobby the U.S. government into protecting U.S.-based airlines, two of which are located in North Texas.

This advocacy group's nemeses are Middle Eastern airlines that want to fly to more cities in the United States. These carriers enjoy government subsidies that enable them to fly airplanes that are unprofitably empty, undercut U.S. prices and claim more market share. That's the shared threat to the airlines and unions.  

Here's where the U.S. government gets involved. There are international deals in place called Open Skies Agreements that govern flights in and out of nations. These enable a foreign carrier to land in the United States from abroad, and eases the transfer of passengers from carriers of various nations. (So you can fly to New York and connect to Paris on AirFrance, on the same ticket.)

These agreements cover international flights. The Middle Eastern carriers want to stop at more U.S. domestic airports, but the partnership argues that the Open Skies Agreements prohibit this. The Middle Eastern carriers, run from the UAE and Qatar (which are actual military allies), argue that these stopovers are just part of the flight and not an attempt to set up domestic routes inside the United States.

The United States government can choose to renegotiate these Open Skies Agreements. This is something the Obama administration has not done, despite soliciting reams on data and information from the U.S. airlines and, basically, kicking the can down the road.

With a Trump presidency, and protecting American jobs a prominent talking point, the airlines and unions clearly see an opening. "We look forward to briefing President-elect Donald Trump and his new administration on the massive, unfair subsidies that the UAE and Qatar give to their state-owned Gulf carriers,” Zuckman wrote. “The Gulf carrier subsidies threaten the jobs of 300,000 U.S. aviation workers and the American aviation industry."

The unions in the coalition include the Air Line Pilots Association, International; the Allied Pilots Association; International Brotherhood of Teamsters; Communications Workers of America; and the Southwest Airlines Pilots’ Association.

Labor unions are wary of Trump's pro-business positions, but union voters turned out in unexpected strength for the Republican. Part of the reason is the union backing of government global-focused trade policy. The idea that unions could score a win with a ruling, and Trump could score one himself and reward those voters, makes them likely bedfellows.

That sounds like a win-win, but it might not sit so well with passengers who have been deprived of cheaper options on international travel. And reopening the Open Skies Agreements could lead to trade war slugfests that gut or dissolve the passenger swap system, leaving passengers waiting longer for connecting international flights and paying more for them.  

There is another front to this war to keep an eye on — a battle to keep Norwegian airlines from an airport in Boston. On November 9, the largest airline pilot union in the world, the Airline Pilot Association, issued a press release that "recognizes the commitment of President-elect Trump to a trade agenda that promotes the United States."

Their release contained a naked plea to intervene against the European carrier, which would reverse a preliminary ruling by the Obama administration allowing the permit. "ALPA remains committed to working with current and newly elected officials on collaborative efforts to call for the enforcement of U.S. air transport agreements and fair competition for U.S. airlines and their workers by opposing Norwegian Air International’s foreign air carrier permit application.”

If there is quick action against the Norwegians, it could be a sign that a more complicated negotiation may be coming with the Middle Eastern carriers.  For those looking for an example of Trump's presidency in action, keep watching the skies. 

   

@Observer

F.G CHARGES A JUDGE OF SUPREME COURT OF MONEY LAUNDERING. ......N35.3million & $319,596 found in his residence.

The Federal Government, yesterday preferred six counts charge of money laundering against a Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Sylvester Ngwuta, at the Federal High Court in Abuja.

He was accused of retaining in his residence N35,358,000; $319,596 and £25,915 during the raid on his house by the operatives of the Department of State Services between October 7 and 8.

The office of the Attorney General of the Federation, which filed the charges on Tuesday, described the sums of money “as proceeds of unlawful activity”.

 

A highly-competent source said on Tuesday that charges would also be preferred against some of the judges under probe before the end of the week.

The offences captured in counts one to three are said to be contrary to Section 15 (2) (d) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011 (as amended) and punishable under Section 15 (3) of the same Act.

Apart from the money laundering charges, Justice Ngwuta is also accused of being in possession of two valid Diplomatic Passports, an offence said to be contrary to Section 10 (1) (a) of the Immigration Act 2015.

The Justice of the apex court is equally accused of “knowingly” making a false statement to the Passport Office concerning his date of birth for the purpose of procuring an additional Diplomatic Passport for himself in violation of Section 10 (1)(c) of the Immigration Act.

He is accused of  submitting multiple application forms to one or more passport offices with the intention of obtaining multiple Diplomatic Passports for himself in violation of Section 10 (1) (d) of the Immigration Act 2015 and punishable under Section 10 (1) of the same Act.

The office of the Attorney General of the Federation filed the charges, numbered, FHC/ABJ/CR/232/2016, before the Federal High Court on Tuesday.

Justice Ngwuta was among the judges, whose houses were raided by the operatives of the DSS between October 7 and 8.

The DSS alleged that it discovered large sums of money in foreign and local currencies in the raided houses.

Our correspondent confirmed on Tuesday that charges had not been filed against others, whom the AGF had said there was a prima facie case against.

The charges against Ngwuta read, “Sylvester Nwali Ngwuta, adult, ‘M’, 65 years, of No. 2 Yellow Houses, Supreme Court Quarters, Off Shehu Shagari Way, Central District, Abuja, on or about the 8th day of October, 2016, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, retained in your possession the sum of thirty-five million, three hundred and forty-eight thousand naira (NGN35,358,000.00), which sum forms part of the proceeds of an unlawful act and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 15 (2) (d) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011 (as amended).

“Sylvester Nwali Ngwuta, adult, ‘M’, 65 years of No. 2 Yellow Houses, Supreme Court Quarters, Off Shehu Shagari Way, Central District, Abuja, on or about the 8th day of October, 2016, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, retained in your possession the sum of three hundred and nineteen thousand five hundred and ninety-six United States of America dollars ($319,596), which sum forms part of the proceeds of an unlawful act and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 15 (2) (d) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011 (as amended).

“Sylvester Nwali Ngwuta, adult, ‘M’, 65 years, of No. 2 Yellow Houses, Supreme Court Quarters, off Shehu Shagari Way, Central District, Abuja, on or about the 8th day of October, 2016, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, retained in your possession the sum of twenty-five thousand nine hundred and fifteen pounds sterling (GBP 25,915), which sum forms part of the proceeds of an unlawful act and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 15 (2)(d) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011 (as amended).

“Sylvester Nwali Ngwuta, adult, ‘M’, 65 years, of No. 2 Yellow Houses, Supreme Court Quarters, off Shehu Shagari Way, Central District, Abuja, FCT, on 8th October, 2016, at Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, had in your possession two valid Diplomatic Passports and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 10 (1) (a) of the Immigration Act 2015.

“Sylvester Nwali Ngwuta, adult, ‘M’, 65 years, of No. 2 Yellow Houses Supreme Court Quarters, Off Shehu Shagari Way, Central District, Abuja, FCT, on 17 September, 2014, at Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, you knowingly made a false statement to the Passport Office concerning your date of birth for the purpose of procuring an additional Diplomatic Passport for yourself and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 10(1)(c) of the Immigration Act.

“Sylvester Nwali Ngwuta, adult,male, 65 years, of No. 2 Yellow Houses, Supreme Court Quarters, Off Shehu Way, Central District, Abuja, FCT, on September 17, 2014, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, you  submitted multiple application forms to one or more passport offices with the intention of obtaining multiple Diplomatic Passports for yourself and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 10 (1) (d) of the Immigration Act 2015 and Punishable under Section 10 (1) of the same Act.”

The Punch

THE WORLD's LONGEST FLIGHTS: Ultra- Long Haul Flying Takes-Off

As 2017 shapes up to be the year for new ultra-long air routes, Britain could find itself sidelined — with the vast majority of the most distant links involving the Gulf, the US and Australasia.

Last week, Air India claimed it had launched the world's longest flight — though this was purely thanks to its choice of routing. The mileages quoted by airlines are for the “Great Circle” route, the shortest distance between the two cities. 

In practice, the actual distance flown is significantly longer for reasons of geo-political sensitivity or, more usually, wind patterns.

For example, the direct track between Los Angeles and Abu Dhabi passes north of Greenland and close to the North Pole, but typically the Etihad flight stays well south, adding 500 miles or more to the 8,387 Great Circle route.

Air India has two very different routings between Delhi and San Francisco to take advantage of the jet stream. Outbound from the Indian capital, the flight goes across the Pacific; inbound, it flies the more direct route over Atlantic. As a result, the Delhi-San Francisco leg often exceeds 9,000 miles, compared with the 7,701 direct track.

At present the two most distant cities linked by a non-stop flight are Dubai and Auckland, 8,824 miles apart. Emirates flies the Airbus A380, the world's biggest passenger jet, daily between the two cities. The journey takes 16h 5m eastbound and 17h 25m westbound.

From 1 February next year, its rival Qatar Airways will also fly non-stop to New Zealand's largest city. As the Qatari capital is over 200 miles further away, the new Doha to Auckland link will take the prize. 

The scheduled journey time is only five minutes longer, as the Boeing 777 to be used for the route has a slightly faster cruising speed.

At present the longest route from Britain is 7,275 miles, in the shape of the Garuda link from Heathrow to Jakarta, the Indonesian capital. The longest hop on a UK airline is 6,906 miles on British Airways from Heathrow to Buenos Aires. 

From January, BA will add a non-stop flight from Heathrow to the Chilean capital, Santiago, 7,249 miles away. But this is well short of the distances covered by the top 10 routes globally.

Eight of the longest 10 links begin or end in the US, and seven start or finish in the Gulf. Three serve Australasia (two to Auckland, one to Sydney). Europe and Asia are unrepresented, with Africa represented only by Johannesburg.

Longest 10 air routes by Great Circle route from February 2017 Route Airline Distance (miles) Doha-Auckland Qatar Airways 9,036 Dubai-Auckland Emirates 8,824 Dallas-Sydney Qantas 8,578 Johannesburg-Atlanta Delta 8,439 Singapore-San Francisco Singapore Airlines/United 8,434 Abu Dhabi-Los Angeles Etihad 8,387 Dubai-Los Angeles Emirates 8,333 Jeddah-Los Angeles Saudia 8,332 Doha-Los Angeles Qatar Airways 8,306 Dubai-Houston Emirates 8,168

As The Independent revealed a year ago, Qantas is considering the first non-stop flight between Europe and Australia, with a link connecting London and Perth. Such a route would become the second-longest worldwide, with a direct distance of 8,991 miles. But the Australian airline is guarded about the possibility. 

Markus Svensson, the carrier's regional general manager in the UK, says: "Potential routes include the likes of Perth-London and Melbourne-Dallas, but Qantas haven't confirmed anything yet."

The Independent understands significant hurdles have emerged to such a pioneering link — involving the airports at each end. The Australian airline will launch the flight only if it can arrive and depart from the Qantas domestic facility at Perth. 

The carrier believes the route will be viable only with easy onward connections to destinations such as Adelaide, Alice Springs and Darwin. At present Perth airport's international terminal is on the “wrong” side of the runway, 15 minutes' drive away. Qantas is demanding that international facilities are installed on its side of the airport.

At the London end, Qantas has fewer slots at Heathrow than it used to hold, and would need to acquire more at a time when prices are extremely high. It is conceivable that Gatwick, where more space is available, could be used instead — though this would reduce connection opportunities to and from the Western Australia flight.

Qantas says it is also considering three new Australia-US flights, holding out the prospect of links between Melbourne and Dallas or Sydney and Chicago. 

The strongest candidate is Sydney-Chicago: it would connect Australia's biggest city with the third-largest in the US, and would have plenty of connecting traffic at either end of the route. 

At 9,238 miles, it would become the longest in the world — until 2018, at least, when Singapore Airlines has vowed to re-launch non-stop flights between Singapore and New York. 

This 9,521-mile link launched in 2004, but closed three years ago when the fuel-heavy A340-500 made it uneconomic. The carrier says it will use a much more efficient A350-900ULR for the reinstated route.

Ultra-long-haul flights are extremely expensive to operate, and depend on relatively cheap oil for profitability. They burn a disproportionate amount of fuel per mile, because of the volume that needs to loaded to sustain the journey, and demand heavy crew resources. The Singapore-New York link operated with six pilots.

Several ultra-long-haul routes have been touted but failed to materialise. Emirates announced last year it would launch a Dubai-Panama City flight of 8,588 miles, and even started selling tickets for it, but the plan was shelved. 

Qatar Airways promised a link from its hub in Doha to Santiago in Chile, 8,967 miles away, but there is no sign of services beginning.

@The Independent

NJC BARS JUDICIAL OFFICIALS STANDING TRIAL OVER CORRUPTION CHARGES FROM OFFICIAL DUTIES

 Justices and judicial officers standing trial will no longer be allowed to perform judicial functions until their cases are determined, the National Judicial Council (NJC) announced today(Thursday), after weeks of pressure from the public.

At least 7 justices from the Supreme Court and the lower courts are under investigation for graft following their arrest by the Department of State Services.Soji Oye, Ag. Director Information of the NJC, announced the suspension of the indicted officers in this statement below.“The National Judicial Council, under the Chairmanship of the Hon. Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon. Justice Mahmud Mohammed, GCON, at its 79th Meeting held on the 2nd and 3rd day of November 2016, commenced implementation of specific aspects of the National Judicial Policy which came into force in April 2016 and was launched on Monday 24th  October, 2016.During the Meeting, Council set-up a Transparency and Anti-Corruption Policy Implementation Committee as follows:

1. 1. Hon Justice E. O. Ayoola, CON (Rtd Justice of the Supreme Court) – Chairman.

1. 2. Hon Justice Kashim Zannah, Chief Judge of Borno State – Member.

1. 3. A. B. Mahmoud, SAN, President Nigeria Bar Association – Member.

Section 6 of the National Judicial Policy aims at putting in place multifaceted strategies and guidelines that will ensure transparency and eliminate corruption in the Judiciary. It seeks, amongst other measures, to provide a platform and opportunity to citizens who profess factual and credible knowledge of information on the nature and modalities of corruption in the judicial system to ventilate such.Council also decided that Judicial Officers shall not be standing trial for alleged corruption related offences and be performing judicial functions at the same time. Council however decided that it will ensure that Judicial Officers who are being investigated for alleged high profile criminal offences do not perform judicial functions until their cases are concluded.”

BOMBS, BRIBES AS BOKO-HARAM REFUGEES BEGIN JOURNEY BACK HOME

First, there was the bomb blast that killed eight people. Then, delays as soldiers demanded bribes to escort the survivors on their journey. Finally, the way was blocked by trucks mired in churned-up mud.

When the refugees from Boko Haram's Islamic insurgency eventually made it home to a newly liberated town in northeast Nigeria, they found "people but no food." Last week, as they made the hazardous trip for a second time with food and other supplies, a truck exploded a land mine, wounding several refugees.

But many say the dangerous journey is preferable to the hunger, humiliation and inhumane conditions in refugee camps where more than 1 million Nigerians, displaced by Boko Haram, are waiting to go home. Many are in Maiduguri, the biggest city in the northeast, the birthplace of Boko Haram, which has killed more than 20,000 and forced 2.6 million from their homes.

As Nigeria's military pushes back against the insurgency and declares once-inaccessible regions to be liberated, more and more refugees are weighing whether to return.

The journey is just the first challenge. The returnees find firebombed homes, destroyed wells and the constant fear of attack by the extremists, who roam the region and keeps vast parts of it inaccessible. The fear keeps returnees from planting their crops, despite famine-like conditions that aid workers warn are already killing children and threatening hundreds of thousands.

"Nigeria is facing the worst humanitarian crisis on the African continent," Peter Lundberg, the acting U.N. deputy humanitarian coordinator, said last week.

The Associated Press tracked returnees to the twin towns of Gamboru-Ngala, on the border with Cameroon, which Nigeria's military liberated in August.

The towns had suffered one of the worst attacks by Boko Haram, whose fighters struck the night of May 5, 2014, in two armored cars stolen from the military, firing rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles. They killed more than 300 people and destroyed almost every building in the towns, which are a major trading post on an international highway.

After the military declared the twin towns liberated, residents eager to return home were told to gather at a bus station on Maiduguri's outskirts. But for weeks, they found little help.

"The government said we could return home, but for over a month now ... we have been abandoned," said one displaced trader, Baba Gana. "We have nothing to eat; some women are resorting to selling their clothing while others take to the streets to beg."

Many residents said soldiers, who say they are not being paid, were demanding bribes to accompany them home. Nigeria's military denied those charges. But truckers confirmed they have to pay the equivalent of up to $600 for military escorts.

This month, a group of residents decided to set out on their own. Before they even left Maiduguri, a bomb exploded in a taxi van, killing eight, according to the emergency management agency.

The determined convoy still set off, only to find the highway blocked by 18 trucks mired in mud on what used to be a paved road, according to Amodu Musa, secretary of the National Union of Road Transport Workers. He said they hired a crane and towing vans to pull out the vehicles.

"But when we got to Gamboru, we discovered that there were people but no food."

Musa returned to Maiduguri to help organize a convoy of food and other supplies, and plead for a military escort.

That convoy finally got under way last week, with more than 200 buses, taxi vans, cars and trucks loaded high with returnees sitting on piles of yams and bags of rice and flour.

But the convoy had not gone 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) out of the city before a truck exploded a land mine. Several wounded returnees were taken to hospitals in Maiduguri, according to Brig. Gen. Jubrin Muhammed, but the rest of the convoy continued making their way home.

Last week, President Muhammadu Buhari launched a committee to draw up strategy for resettlement and reconstruction of the shattered region. People "have lost to everything to the insurgency," he said.

Associated Press writer Michelle Faul reported from Lagos, Nigeria